The Triage Implementation Framework: A Continuous Improvement Model for Educator Preparation Programs

Theoretical Approaches Used For Continuous Improvement

Theory of Change (ToC) is generally used in many funded projects to map out a link between the project developer’s initiative and desirable outcomes. The initiative usually includes the available resources, activities, and products with long-term and short-term goals described. Systems that use ToC begin by identifying the desired long-term and short-term goals, including some basic assumptions, and then work their way back from these to identify all the conditions (outcomes) that must be in place for the goals to be achieved (LeMahieu, Edwards, & Gomez, 2015; Hannan, Russell, & Takahashi 2015). This strategic identification is made by leveraging partnership between educator preparation programs and P-12 school partners and all stakeholders, including parents, state departments, and regional education agencies. A theory of change articulates the specific interventions that will be used to try to achieve prerequisite conditions and long-term goals. These interventions represent the project’s concrete activities. Developing well-articulated outcomes and preconditions helps a team choose interventions intentionally, as compared to a project that begins by planning its interventions and then stipulating what it hopes to achieve (Reinholz & Andrews 2020).